Northern Illinois had a rough go of things yesterday. After a lay-up one minute into the game, the Huskies failed to record another field goal for 24 minutes and 33 seconds. They scored only four points in the first half (a record), shot 13.1% from the field for the game (a record), and went 1-33 from deep. For those that witnessed it, it was a thrilling exercise in futility and a grotesque affront to the game of basketball. For the person in charge of recapping the game at NIUHuskies.com, it was a superb defensive performance—the best in years!—which incidentally didn't secure the Huskies a victory. The start to their story:

YPSILANTI, Mich. — Northern Illinois posted its best defensive effort in seven seasons allowing just 42 points on Saturday afternoon, but it came in a losing effort as the Huskies fell to Eastern Michigan, 42-25, at the EMU Convocation Center.

A bit below:

Northern Illinois turned the ball over a season-low eight times in the contest and pulled down a season-high 23 offensive rebounds but didn't have an answer for the Eastern Michigan 2-3 zone. NIU forced 15 Eastern Michigan turnovers and held the Eagles to just 37.1 percent (13-of-35) shooting in the contest.

This is a great and noble example of burying the lede. There are few scenarios where ignoring the only real story to come from an event is so obviously necessary for a hometown paper, though we can think of a couple:

• "Chris Webber had a strong national championship game, but North Carolina prevailed in the waning seconds."

• "Bill Buckner played a full ten innings despite various injuries, but it wasn't enough to stop the Mets from winning game six of the 1986 World Series."

• "The Hindenburg's most recent flight proved that rigid airships can cross the Atlantic Ocean, but landing proved problematic."

• "The wooden horse was a beautiful gift, but Troy fell to the Greeks."

The record that Northern Illinois broke for fewest points in a half? Its own, set on Dec. 1 of this season against Dayton. Oh, the humanity.